But now the airline is taking a bold step by
building airplanes capable of running, at least in part, on
hydrogen. The plane is part of easyJet's goal to lower its
emissions by 7% over the next five years.

But easyJet is proposing the first ever plane to
draw power from a hydrogen fuel cell. To be clear, the planes
wouldn't fly on hydrogen power, but would use it while
driving on the ground.

That doesn't sound like a huge deal, but the airline predicts
equipping planes with hydrogen fuel cells will
save 50,000 tonnes of fuel while reducing toxic emissions.

How it works

easyJet

The fuel-cell stack generates power for the engine by fusing
pressurized hydrogen stored in a tank with oxygen from the
air. During this process, electricity is created that is
used to power the motor for when the plane is driving on the
ground.

The only byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells is water, which easyJet
says they will use to refill the plane's water supply.

In addition to drawing power from the hydrogen fuel cell, the
plane will store the kinetic energy from braking while landing.
That energy will be used to power batteries in the plane to keep
it mobile.

"This would enable the aircraft to utilize clean hydrogen power
instead of using fixed ground power or engine power whilst the
aircraft is taxiing," Andy Cockburn, a spokesperson for
easyJet, told Tech Insider.

This is a similar system to hydrogen-powered cars, which are also
equipped with batteries to aid in higher performance demands like
acceleration.

On average, easyJet aircrafts accrue 4 million miles a
year just from taxiing — that's akin to traveling to the moon and
back eight times, the airline wrote in a press release.

The future

easyJet

The airline is currently working on equipping a truck with
the hydrogen fuel-cell container to test the system in the coming
months, Cockburn said.

There's no word yet on when we can expect to see the planes in
action, but Cockburn notes that the technology will be used on
international and domestic flights.

Getting a proof of concept together could take as long as three
to five years, with mainstream adoption taking as much as 15
years, Ian Davies, easyJet's head of engineering, told CNN.

The planes could also draw power from the hydrogen fuel cell
while flying in the future.

"We see no reason why it cannot be used in flight," Cockburn told
Tech Insider. "We are leading the way with this and see no reason
why we cannot develop this into a fully certified technology."